Month: February 2017

Facebook’s new video app is now available on Samsung Smart TVs – which makes Samsung the first platform to feature the social network’s latest application. Facebook had announced earlier this month that it was soon releasing a video app aimed at connected TVs and other media players, like Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, but didn’t unveil a specific launch date for any… Read More

Michael Sayman was just 17 when Facebook hired him, but he’d already built 5 apps. Now 7 years after his first launch, the Facebook product manager has just released Show and Tell, which turns selfies and visual communication into a game. You’re given an emotion to act out, you send the video to friends and they try to guess what you’re feeling. “I made 4 Snaps about… Read More

Mark Zuckerberg believes we should be “coming together not just as cities or nations, but also as a global community.” That’s why Facebook’s latest feature feels a bit confusing. Facebook has added nearly 200 flags to its Profile Frames feature, which lets you overlay imagery filters atop your profile photo. Facebook first launched profile frames for sports teams in… Read More

Half of the web’s traffic is now encrypted, according to a new report from the EFF released this week. The rights organization noted the milestone was attributable to a number of efforts, including recent moves from major tech companies to implement HTTPS on their own properties. Over the years, these efforts have included pushes from Facebook and Twitter, back in 2013 and 2012… Read More

Do you dig getting creative in virtual reality? Well, your options for doing so got a little less limited today, as Google has made Tilt Brush available on Oculus Rift. The virtual painting application was previously an HTC Vive exclusive, but now that Rift has its Touch Controllers for more natural interaction, Google has decided to bring Tilt Brush to the Facebook-owned VR platform. The… Read More

WhatsApp could put the brakes on Snapchat’s international growth with today’s launch of WhatsApp Status, a new tab for sharing decorated photos, videos and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. It’s another Facebook-owned Snapchat Stories copycat, but the twist is that it’s end-to-end encrypted like WhatsApp messaging. Read More

Flying from SF to LA every week sucks, and so Sriram Krishnan is leaving a big financial opportunity at Snap to ditch the commute. The former Facebook Audience Network executive spent the last year running Snap’s Ads API and platform, and now he’s leaving. The move was reported in Recode today, saying “The timing here isn’t great for Snap”. But that immediately… Read More

This week, the CRISPR-Cas9 patent case came to a close, an encrypted messaging app went open source and Facebook announced some big changes to its video product. These are some of the notable stories in tech from this week. You can also receive this post as a weekly newsletter, delivered to your inbox on Saturday mornings. 1. A judge has determined that CRISPR-Cas9 patents belong to the… Read More

Facebook wants to give you the power to define what is and isn’t objectionable, and influence the local defaults of those who don’t choose voluntarily. You’ll eventually be able to select how much nudity, violence, graphic content and profanity you’re comfortable seeing. Read More